Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

At first glance, the place looks exactly the same as it did in the morning, and there seems to be no problem at all.

"I thought an entire army group would be here to welcome me."

Ishido Masaaki raised an eyebrow and casually made a sarcastic remark, but his movements remained tense and alert as he cautiously made his way down the corridor.

What will happen next?

Akira Toyama, who was in second place, and Hobo, who was in last place, were both on guard.

The digital clock on the wall showed that the time was now 15:44. Time in the resort was indeed accelerating, and it was hard to imagine what would happen if it continued to accelerate like this.

"..."

Then, Akira Toyama was the first to sense it.

That inexplicable feeling of palpitation resurfaced, causing him to stop moving involuntarily.

He couldn't find the source of this strange palpitation, but he was certain that once this feeling appeared, something bad was bound to follow.

"I can smell it."

Next, Hu Baoxiong stopped, his nose twitching as he suddenly squatted down, sniffed the carpet, and then reached out and tore it open, exposing the floor underneath.

tear-

After a clear tearing sound, the stench of blood filled the entire corridor in an instant.

The dark red ground was flowing.

Beneath the seemingly clean carpet, the floor, overflowing with blood, resembled a human wound, continuously oozing more and more blood.

As Hu Baoxiong revealed his actions, something seemed to change. The warm light in the corridor, which had been relatively normal, quickly dimmed and gradually turned red. Meanwhile, large and small bloodstains began to appear on the wall, and a foul stench continued to fill their nostrils, as if trying to destroy their sense of smell.

"I will sense it; you are responsible for confirming my mental state."

Akira Toyama's gaze was fixed on the bloodstains on the wall, and the object of his obsession, the contact lens he was wearing, began to exert its power.

Masaaki Ishido silently stood behind Akira Toyama, while Koyo began to keep watch on their surroundings. The three acted in perfect harmony, knowing what to do without needing to say a word. As for the rescue team member following them, although its behavior had become much more abstract, its intelligence was still sufficient to determine what to do in a critical moment. Therefore, the rescue team member did not interfere with the three players' actions at all, but instead consciously helped to keep watch from the side.

A faint chill began to spread from Akira Toyama's eyes.

The image went from complete darkness to gradual blurring, and finally became clear, as if he had truly returned to a moment in the past, allowing him to witness those hidden things.

We can discuss your needs calmly, but we hope you will refrain from any further extreme actions.

The elderly man in the neon police uniform was covered in sweat and spoke in a humble voice.

【We want the money, the exact amount, not a penny less. If you obey, the hostages will be safe. If you don't, well, I can only say that you'll have killed all those poor, innocent people, sir.】

Standing opposite the older man was a man wearing a mask and hat, holding a submachine gun. The man's face was completely covered, so his expression couldn't be seen, but based on his voice, Akira Toyama could tell that he was probably under 25 years old, still a young man.

Is this the negotiation scene between the gang of thugs who attacked the resort and the police?

Akira Toyama continued to urge on the power of his obsession and increased his mental energy, striving to see more from this bloody scene.

This way, we can buy more time.

Those fools actually believe we're trying to kidnap the wealthy for ransom. How could these lowly beings possibly understand the greatness we seek?

Alright, let's not waste any more time. The previous blood sacrifices were just appetizers. To please the blood we worship, to obtain the healing we crave, we must do more and do it more perfectly. Know that our god is always watching over us.

I saw young people gathered together in the corridor of the venue.

Their bodies were different from when they were negotiating.

Their once-intact bodies now bore traces of mutilation; normal skin had become abnormal, and an aura of death enveloped them from within. They were a group of people suffering from various terminal illnesses, or those tormented by childhood disabilities and nearing the end of their lives. But Toyama Akira clearly remembered that when he negotiated with the police officer earlier, these thugs were all perfectly healthy, without any problems. In other words, they possessed some kind of supernatural power. These people, whether they had willingly or unwillingly embarked on the path of evil, might have already fallen under the watchful eye of some kind of "evil god."

That god, it's probably only possible that it's a hospital.

[All hostages on the first floor are gathered in the game area; all hostages on the second floor are gathered in the massage area; on the third floor... (the sound becomes indistinct); those on the first and second basement levels are to be executed on the spot. Except for necessary guards and sentries, everyone else is divided into two groups: one group searches for the entrance to the third basement level, and the other group prepares to perform a blood sacrifice on the hostages gathered in the game area. It's about time for some action; our gods must be looking forward to that painful blood.]

After all, suffering is the source of happiness. Only by letting everyone experience endless suffering can we truly move towards happiness. Hehehe, we will definitely obtain happiness, we will definitely achieve perfect happiness. Because we are so devout, ahh, because we are so suffering.

I can't wait any longer! I want to start right now! Let's get started, hahaha, let's begin this new kind of pain and the search for new happiness!

The frantic sounds continued to ring out.

Those believers were torturing themselves, casually tearing open their own flesh with their words, revealing a crazed expression.

It's hard to imagine what that "hospital" did to these people to turn them into this. At least to Akira Toyama, who was observing from the sidelines, these thugs could no longer be considered human; they had been alienated from the depths of their souls and had become something no different from monsters.

But what happened next?

The information that these glasses can see seems to be nearing its limit.

Tsk, that's far from enough. We haven't seen the truly important information yet; all we know so far is the role the [Hospital] plays behind the scenes. The problem is, all the participating players know that the [Hospital] is definitely behind these dungeons, so this information is practically meaningless.

I'll help you see things more clearly, but be careful, as this will make your mind more susceptible to being captured by dangerous things.

At the critical moment, Gao Hai's voice rang in Yuanshan Ming's mind. Then, under the golden power fluctuations, Yuanshan Ming's spirit was further amplified, and some things that were previously unclear became clear at this moment.

[Buzz... We found... those...]

[Hello? Team Three? Hello, something's wrong with the communication.]

[The team responsible for searching the third underground level has lost contact? Send a few people from Team Two to check; that's where we need to focus our attention most. The sacrifice can be delayed, but the divine revelation absolutely cannot be ignored. Act quickly, don't dawdle.]

Those fanatical believers are taking action.

Something seemed to have gone wrong, as Akira Toyama could see a look of confusion on the faces of the believers.

The faint sound of sobbing could be heard from customers and venue staff huddled in a corner, trembling with fear. They were bewildered, terrified, and shaking under the guns of these thugs. Corpses lay scattered throughout the venue, the stench of blood filling the air and adding to the horror of those still alive.

[Sizzle... sizzle sizzle...]

The bandits' communicators continued to emit harsh static.

[Sizzle... Hehe... Sizzle...]

A continuous, resounding noise that seemed to be mixed with some strange sound.

【…】

I don't know when it started, but the bandits quieted down.

Their expressions were no longer fanatical, their looks no longer bloodthirsty.

Yuanshan Ming didn't know how to describe the changes in these bandits. He could feel that they were like different people. Even if their appearance hadn't changed, their inner selves were something else entirely.

This feeling is like... a living corpse, like a piece of breathing flesh.

numbness.

He finally found the right words.

At this moment, amidst the cacophony of the communicators, the bandits became numb, like walking corpses devoid of all emotion.

No, not entirely.

They had a little something left, just the last bit of something.

bang-

The first bandit dropped his weapon and opened his mouth, which was drooling incessantly.

【Aaaaaaaahh ...

Amidst screams, flesh was torn apart, and the sounds of swallowing continued.

All the bandits dropped their weapons and stopped using any guns.

They were like zombies from movies and television, only knowing how to bite and swallow, having lost everything except the most important instinct for life.

appetite.

Their voracious appetites were urging them to take action.

Driven by this bizarre appetite, these bandits became incredibly strong and defied common sense.

The customers and staff began to flee, but many failed, easily torn to pieces, easier than tearing a piece of paper. Some tried to fight back, picking up the bandits' guns, only to discover with despair that even if the bandits' heads were smashed, they could instantly regenerate, and even shotguns fired at point-blank range had no effect on them.

However, the number of customers and staff ultimately prevailed. After the bandits abandoned their weapons, some of them managed to escape to the end of the corridor and begin to leave the bandits' area of ​​operation.

[Hungry...so hungry...]

Then, these people stopped and turned to look at the people who had fled with them.

The screams echoed along with the bloody scene, sending shivers down the spines of everyone present.

Whether you were friends, spouses, children, or any other relationship before, the next second you'll be nothing at all.

Those who should have fled revealed expressions of hunger and began to tear and swallow large mouthfuls.

A person died from severe injuries.

Immediately, another person becomes bloodthirsty and hungry.

Without any warning or apparent preconditions, change occurs suddenly, and those who change are no longer themselves.

Hunger, an insatiable hunger.

The belly swelled up, then burst.

They just kept eating and eating. They ate whatever they could find, whether it was themselves, someone else's food, or anything else. They wouldn't stop until their mouths were rotten, and even if their tongue bones were destroyed, their eyes would still be filled with nothing but appetite.

Until everyone dies.

Customers, staff, and even the thugs were all reduced to mangled flesh.

The blood-red light obscured the lamplight, turning the warm yellow light into a blood-red hue.

But that invisible hunger still cannot be satisfied.

hungry.

very hungry.

I'm so, so hungry.

I want to eat something.

Anything is fine.

I'm so hungry, I need to eat something, I absolutely have to eat something.

So hungry...

"Uh-huh!"